Bad blood boils in the Cronulla stomp

By Bonnie Malkin, Edmund Tadros and Les Kennedy

December 8, 2005 — 11.00am

ON THE same day a teenager was charged over the bashing of lifesavers at Cronulla, more violence erupted at the beach, and an email circulated urging locals to reclaim their suburb from visiting gangs.

An 18-year-old concreter from Bankstown was released on bail yesterday on the condition he stay away from the beach and from his alleged victims of an attack on Sunday.

While he returned to work, racial tension resurfaced at the beach when a group of young men started brawling with three locals outside Cronulla's lifesaving club, then turned on a news photographer as police intervened.

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Police arrested a 20-year-old man from Riverwood and charged him with smashing the photographer's camera. They were still looking for the rest of the men last night and said they had not ruled out a link between yesterday's violence and Sunday's attack.

Erika Lamour, 18, was at the beach yesterday when the violence broke out. "I saw a group of ethnic people come down as usual and try to start a fight," she said. "They always do it. I didn't actually see the fight. But I saw everyone running towards the club."

Ms Lamour said the gangs that roamed the beach targeted the locals. "They always come down trying to start trouble. It's the only reason we don't want to come down, because we know we will get harassed."

She said she had received an email asking locals to come to the beach this Sunday. "I got an email this morning saying that all the [Sutherland] Shire people should come down on Sunday and we should reclaim the Shire."

After Sunday's violence, lifesavers said gangs had been intimidating them and beachgoers in the southern and eastern suburbs for two years. The State Opposition says police cannot respond to the violence quickly enough because they have lost 18 officers in the Cronulla area.

Chief Superintendent Robert Redfern said yesterday's violence started at 4.20pm when three local youths made a comment to a group of about six Middle Eastern-looking men at the beach. The comment sparked a fight.

"As a result of the fight, one of the males coming off the beach received a cut to the face and some bruising," he said.

Detective Inspector Steve O'Grady said one of the men involved in the fight had left the beach before police arrived. He said tensions were still high when they got there.

"One of the local St George and Sutherland Shire Leader photographers … came around to take photos and one set upon him," Inspector O'Grady said. The photographer suffered minor injuries.

Superintendent Redfern denied reports that locals had run out of the nearby Northies Cronulla Hotel to join the fight.

He said police were taking the threat of trouble on Sunday seriously and would have an increased presence on the beach.

The Police Minister, Carl Scully, announced on Tuesday that six officers would bolster Cronulla Beach patrols.

The 18-year-old charged over Sunday's attacks was ordered to appear in Sutherland Local Court on January 19. Police are still looking for 11 youths over the assault.